The neutral-site backdrop has always worked as a change of pace for a handful of natural rivals who see each other every year: Florida-Georgia, Army-Navy, Texas-Oklahoma, Grambling-Southern, etc. But the instant success of the season-opening ACC-SEC showdown in the Georgia Dome has revived the rage for the big-ticket, one-and-done affair between relatively unfamiliar foes. These games are played from Soldier Field to Wrigley Field to Yankee Stadium to FedEx Field to Jerry Jones' Intergalactic Space Palace to the Slinky Bowl at the New Meadowlands and all major points between. Turns out the manufactured bowl atmosphere is quite the gravy train.

But it's not officially a trend until the Big Ten, the Pac-10 and the Rose Bowl are considering getting into the game three years after everyone else. From the L.A. Times:

Pacific 10 Conference and Rose Bowl officials are considering an annual kickoff game — maybe pitting the Pac-10 against the Big Ten — that would give the West Coast a stronger presence at the start of each college football season. [...]

"The Pac-10 has a tradition of playing some really tough out-of-conference games early on," Commissioner Larry Scott said. "We love the Rose Bowl relationship. ... There's a lot to think through. I would only want to do it if it wouldn't tarnish what it means to play in the Rose Bowl. This is hallowed turf."

The "preseason bowl game" was a good idea when the late, great Kickoff Classic put it into practice 30 years ago, and it's been a boon to college basketball. If the temple can survive the 2007 Oregon-UCLA game, I'm sure it can pull back the curtain for, say, Iowa-Cal to kick off the season in prime time.

We'll even settle for the L.A. Coliseum. Wherever it's played, a quality September game not involving Portland State or Eastern Illinois is always a good thing.

- - -
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.